The three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with changes to personal income tax in Ontario, the legalization of cannabis and its effect on the workplace and a decision in a case of termination of an employee following a workplace harassment complaint.

With medicinal marijuana already being prescribed by doctors and the upcoming legalization of recreational marijuana just around the corner, this question addresses a real concern shared by many employers across Canada.

2017 has been an incredibly busy year for Ontario employment law practitioners. In addition to the changes to the common law brought about by the decisions considered in this post, one would be foolish to omit any reference to the sweeping changes recently ushered in by the Wynne government as a result of the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017, S.O. 2017 C.22 (“Bill 148”).

In 2017, the provincial legislature and Ontario judges continued to change Ontario’s employment laws. These changes resulted in higher payroll costs and a more regulated workplace. This blog briefly identifies 10 employment law developments from the past year.

The three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with: a warning from the Privacy Commissioner not to reuse passwords, a company that contravened privacy law by releasing the results of an employee’s drug test and Alberta’s investigation of serious workplace health and safety incidents.

It seems a lot of heated HR issues have begun to resurface in the news recently. From the accommodation of medical marijuana to the legality of unpaid internships, these are some issues that have been plaguing HR professionals in recent years.

Drug and alcohol testing in the workplace, particularly randomized testing, has always been a grey area for employers. When is such testing permissible? When is it deemed reasonable in light of safety concerns? The Supreme Court of Canada has answered some of these questions after their long-awaited decision regarding randomized drug and alcohol testing in the case of Irving Pulp and Paper.